Ex-Wallpaper team unveils Esquire redesign

Hearst Communications’ Esquire magazine launches its redesign tomorrow, devised by the title’s art director David McKendrick.

The September issue of the magazine, which was founded in the US in 1933, sports a new, compact A5 size. It will also feature a specially commissioned typeface, a redrawn logo by graphic designer Paul Barnes and a new cover design.

‘[The redesign] was about making it a more sophisticated men’s magazine,’ says McKendrick, formerly head designer of the bespoke department at Wallpaper magazine.

‘It is almost harking back to a little bit of the heritage. I wanted it to feel much more like a book, something easy to digest and navigate.’

Under the direction of editor Jeremy Langmead, who also joined from Wallpaper, where he was editor-in-chief, the magazine aims to reflect the ‘values and needs of the modern man’.

The most distinctive change is the size, which is more commonly seen in the US. It aims to be easier to read on the move and to feel more masculine and solid, while providing shelf presence on the newsstand.

‘It is now a more logical, better-looking magazine. I really wanted to create something unique and try to move away from the world of men’s magazines as they are now,’ adds McKendrick.

The magazine will see the return of the original Esky motif designed by cartoonist E Simms Campbell in 1933.

McKendrick has also been a senior designer at North and a designer at Graphic Thought Facility.